Derby Gilbert & Sullivan Company
Encyclopedia
Derby Gilbert & Sullivan Company, based in Derby
, England, produces the works of Gilbert & Sullivan. The company have won the amateur competition at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
an unprecedented six times and have been called "one of the most highly acclaimed nonprofessional theatre companies in the UK". Members of the company have earned many individual awards from that festival, and the company have won awards from the Waterford
International Festival of Light Opera. Derby G&S Company have also performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
and Seattle, Washington
in the U.S., and twice in Nanaimo, British Columbia
, Canada.
The company generally mounts one or two productions each year, with orchestra, performing for a week in Derby, three or four performances at Chatsworth House
, England, and one performance at the G&S Festival in Buxton
, England.
, a parish village on the outskirts of Derby
, a choral group was started by the local school headmaster – Spondon Choral Union. This choir sang both secular and religious music and performed in local and national music festivals. After the headmaster retired, the choir continued under the leadership of several conductors and subsequently was renamed as Spondon Musical Society.
The choir's musical style changed in 1966 when a concert version of "Trial by Jury
" proved so popular that the decision was taken to try out a full production of "H.M.S. Pinafore
" in the school hall in 1967. The success of this production initiated a series of yearly Gilbert and Sullivan
productions in Spondon, which continued for the next dozen years until the society outgrew the potential of the school hall. In 1980, the society moved to The Derby Playhouse, where its first production, "The Mikado
", received such a favourable response that they changed their name to Derby Gilbert & Sullivan Company to more clearly reflect the new city base and repertoire of the company.
In the 1980s, the company played a couple of 'guest weeks' at the Buxton Opera House
with "The Mikado" and later "The Yeomen of the Guard
". Under the direction of one of its founder members, Andrew Nicklin, a theatre director and orchestra conductor, the company began to build a reputation for presenting updated, or "non-traditional" G&S productions.
won the Derby Playhouse Eagle award for Best Amateur Musical seen by the adjudicators in and around the city during the 1997 season. Then the company presented this production at the G&S festival at its Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
venue. The production was adjudicated the Festival Winner, and several of the performers won individual awards, including Deborah Norman for Best Female Voice and Andrew Nicklin for Best Amateur Producer.
At the 1998 festival at Buxton
, the company continued to earn awards, as its production of The Pirates of Penzance
received the 2nd Runners Up prize. In 1999, the company was again the Festival Winner at the International G&S Festival with their production of The Yeomen of the Guard
. The company's individual performers also won awards for Best Male Performer (Stephen Godward), Best Female Performer (Elizabeth Watkins) and Best Supporting Actor (Simon Theobald), with the production team being awarded Best Musical Director (Christine Nicklin) and Best Amateur Producer (Andrew Nicklin). Other members of the company won awards for other performances including Best Male Voice (Nick Sales) and Best Female Voice (Debbie Norman), both with another Nicklin-directed company, Trent Opera, which staged Utopia Ltd futuristically set in Star Wars
style.
2000 was another top award winning year for the company, as its production of Iolanthe
was the Festival Winner at the 7th International G&S Festival. Other prizes won by the company were Best Animated Chorus and Best Producer for Andrew Nicklin. The Mikado in 2001 placed 2nd Runners Up, and individual prizes went to company members Patrick Dawson, for Best Male Performer, Stephen Godward, for Best Male Voice and to the chorus for Best Chorus, as well as nominations in most categories.
In 2002 the Company appointed a new President, Glyn Hepworth, who initiated the company's popular "Dinner and Operetta Evenings". The company mounted The Gondoliers
in the spring. In the summer, the company flew to Seattle, Washington
, where they were hosted by the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society in three performances of Iolanthe. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
s review commented that "the Derby company made clear why it is so well-regarded. It brought its own performers, set, costumes and several staff members, but the company used Seattle G & S' orchestra. ... Derby's lively production was ... a delight to ... the appreciative audience. ... Although all this company is amateur, it has fielded some excellent voices that are well-suited to G & S; the choruses of peers and fairies sang richly and so clearly nearly every word was audible. Less than two weeks after their return to the UK, the company performed The Gondoliers on the Awards Night of the International G&S Festival at the Buxton Opera House
.
In 2003, the company's production of Ruddigore
was Festival Winner, the company's 4th top win. The following year, the company was forced to end its 23-year relationship with the Derby Playhouse and move its production of H.M.S. Pinafore to the Derby Assembly Rooms Darwin Suite, a much smaller "black box" space with fewer technical capabilities. Nevertheless, the company placed 2nd Runners Up at the International G&S Festival. In both 2005 and 2006, the company again was Festival Winner, with Andrew Nicklin's productions of The Sorcerer
and Pirates. The company's six wins at the Festival are unprecedented and are still the largest number of first place wins. The company also took The Sorcerer to the Waterford
Festival of Light Opera, where it won the awards for Best G&S Opera, Best G&S Director and Best Chorus, and Stephen Godward won Best Male Singer for his performance as Dr. Daly. In 2005, the company also took its 2004 production of Pinafore to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island
in British Columbia
, Canada. As with all of the company's transatlantic trips, the cast, and in this case also the technical staff, paid their own airfare and accommodation. Nevertheless, the company enjoyed the experience so much that they went again to Nanaimo in 2007, taking two productions, Andrew Nicklin's Iolanthe and Pirates.
In 2008, the company were invited to perform in the Victorian Theatre within Chatsworth House
, where it gave three performances of Pirates. They were invited to return to Chatsworth in 2009 and expects to do so annually.
In 2010, the company made another trans-Atlantic trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
, to take part in the U.S. leg of the 17th International G&S Festival with its Mikado. It is also performing The Mikado in Buxton. Notable company members include tenor
Gari Glaysher
.
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, England, produces the works of Gilbert & Sullivan. The company have won the amateur competition at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival
The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival is held every summer at the Opera House in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. The three-week Festival of Gilbert and Sullivan performances and fringe events attracts thousands of visitors, including performers, supporters, and G&S enthusiasts from all...
an unprecedented six times and have been called "one of the most highly acclaimed nonprofessional theatre companies in the UK". Members of the company have earned many individual awards from that festival, and the company have won awards from the Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
International Festival of Light Opera. Derby G&S Company have also performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
and Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
in the U.S., and twice in Nanaimo, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada.
The company generally mounts one or two productions each year, with orchestra, performing for a week in Derby, three or four performances at Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England, northeast of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield . It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.Standing on the east bank of the...
, England, and one performance at the G&S Festival in Buxton
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...
, England.
Origins and early years
The roots of Derby Gilbert & Sullivan Company reach back to the 1940s when in SpondonSpondon
Spondon is a ward within the city of Derby. Prior to this, Spondon was a separate village which dated from before the Domesday Book of 1086.-Description:The name Spondon is Anglo-Saxon and describes a gravelly hill....
, a parish village on the outskirts of Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, a choral group was started by the local school headmaster – Spondon Choral Union. This choir sang both secular and religious music and performed in local and national music festivals. After the headmaster retired, the choir continued under the leadership of several conductors and subsequently was renamed as Spondon Musical Society.
Trial by Jury
Trial by Jury is a comic opera in one act, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was first produced on 25 March 1875, at London's Royalty Theatre, where it initially ran for 131 performances and was considered a hit, receiving critical praise and outrunning its...
" proved so popular that the decision was taken to try out a full production of "H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
" in the school hall in 1967. The success of this production initiated a series of yearly Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
productions in Spondon, which continued for the next dozen years until the society outgrew the potential of the school hall. In 1980, the society moved to The Derby Playhouse, where its first production, "The Mikado
The Mikado
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
", received such a favourable response that they changed their name to Derby Gilbert & Sullivan Company to more clearly reflect the new city base and repertoire of the company.
In the 1980s, the company played a couple of 'guest weeks' at the Buxton Opera House
Buxton Opera House
Buxton Opera House is in The Square, Buxton, Derbyshire, England. It is a 902-seat opera house that hosts the annual Buxton Festival and International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, among others, as well as pantomime at Christmas, musicals and other entertainments year-round. Hosting live...
with "The Mikado" and later "The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888, and ran for 423 performances...
". Under the direction of one of its founder members, Andrew Nicklin, a theatre director and orchestra conductor, the company began to build a reputation for presenting updated, or "non-traditional" G&S productions.
Competitive successes
Under Nicklin, the company took The Mikado to The International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in 1996, the company's first appearance there. The production had a modern theme and setting that earned the company an "Adjudicator's Special Award" for innovation. The next year, the company's production of Princess IdaPrincess Ida
Princess Ida; or, Castle Adamant is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was their eighth operatic collaboration of fourteen. Princess Ida opened at the Savoy Theatre on January 5, 1884, for a run of 246 performances...
won the Derby Playhouse Eagle award for Best Amateur Musical seen by the adjudicators in and around the city during the 1997 season. Then the company presented this production at the G&S festival at its Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
venue. The production was adjudicated the Festival Winner, and several of the performers won individual awards, including Deborah Norman for Best Female Voice and Andrew Nicklin for Best Amateur Producer.
Buxton
Buxton is a spa town in Derbyshire, England. It has the highest elevation of any market town in England. Located close to the county boundary with Cheshire to the west and Staffordshire to the south, Buxton is described as "the gateway to the Peak District National Park"...
, the company continued to earn awards, as its production of The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
received the 2nd Runners Up prize. In 1999, the company was again the Festival Winner at the International G&S Festival with their production of The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard
The Yeomen of the Guard; or, The Merryman and His Maid, is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 3 October 1888, and ran for 423 performances...
. The company's individual performers also won awards for Best Male Performer (Stephen Godward), Best Female Performer (Elizabeth Watkins) and Best Supporting Actor (Simon Theobald), with the production team being awarded Best Musical Director (Christine Nicklin) and Best Amateur Producer (Andrew Nicklin). Other members of the company won awards for other performances including Best Male Voice (Nick Sales) and Best Female Voice (Debbie Norman), both with another Nicklin-directed company, Trent Opera, which staged Utopia Ltd futuristically set in Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
style.
2000 was another top award winning year for the company, as its production of Iolanthe
Iolanthe
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh collaboration of the fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan....
was the Festival Winner at the 7th International G&S Festival. Other prizes won by the company were Best Animated Chorus and Best Producer for Andrew Nicklin. The Mikado in 2001 placed 2nd Runners Up, and individual prizes went to company members Patrick Dawson, for Best Male Performer, Stephen Godward, for Best Male Voice and to the chorus for Best Chorus, as well as nominations in most categories.
2002–2008
The Gondoliers
The Gondoliers; or, The King of Barataria is a Savoy Opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 December 1889 and ran for a very successful 554 performances , closing on 30 June 1891...
in the spring. In the summer, the company flew to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, where they were hosted by the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society in three performances of Iolanthe. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
s review commented that "the Derby company made clear why it is so well-regarded. It brought its own performers, set, costumes and several staff members, but the company used Seattle G & S' orchestra. ... Derby's lively production was ... a delight to ... the appreciative audience. ... Although all this company is amateur, it has fielded some excellent voices that are well-suited to G & S; the choruses of peers and fairies sang richly and so clearly nearly every word was audible. Less than two weeks after their return to the UK, the company performed The Gondoliers on the Awards Night of the International G&S Festival at the Buxton Opera House
Buxton Opera House
Buxton Opera House is in The Square, Buxton, Derbyshire, England. It is a 902-seat opera house that hosts the annual Buxton Festival and International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, among others, as well as pantomime at Christmas, musicals and other entertainments year-round. Hosting live...
.
In 2003, the company's production of Ruddigore
Ruddigore
Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse, originally called Ruddygore, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written together by Gilbert and Sullivan...
was Festival Winner, the company's 4th top win. The following year, the company was forced to end its 23-year relationship with the Derby Playhouse and move its production of H.M.S. Pinafore to the Derby Assembly Rooms Darwin Suite, a much smaller "black box" space with fewer technical capabilities. Nevertheless, the company placed 2nd Runners Up at the International G&S Festival. In both 2005 and 2006, the company again was Festival Winner, with Andrew Nicklin's productions of The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer
The Sorcerer is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of The Sorcerer is based on a Christmas story, An Elixir of Love, that Gilbert wrote for The Graphic magazine in 1876...
and Pirates. The company's six wins at the Festival are unprecedented and are still the largest number of first place wins. The company also took The Sorcerer to the Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
Festival of Light Opera, where it won the awards for Best G&S Opera, Best G&S Director and Best Chorus, and Stephen Godward won Best Male Singer for his performance as Dr. Daly. In 2005, the company also took its 2004 production of Pinafore to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada. As with all of the company's transatlantic trips, the cast, and in this case also the technical staff, paid their own airfare and accommodation. Nevertheless, the company enjoyed the experience so much that they went again to Nanaimo in 2007, taking two productions, Andrew Nicklin's Iolanthe and Pirates.
In 2008, the company were invited to perform in the Victorian Theatre within Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House
Chatsworth House is a stately home in North Derbyshire, England, northeast of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield . It is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, and has been home to his family, the Cavendish family, since Bess of Hardwick settled at Chatsworth in 1549.Standing on the east bank of the...
, where it gave three performances of Pirates. They were invited to return to Chatsworth in 2009 and expects to do so annually.
Return to Derby Theatre and recent years
The Derby Playhouse reopened as the Derby Theatre in 2009, and Derby G&S Company were invited to stage its Gondoliers and The Mikado as the first productions on the newly opened stage. A review of The Gondoliers in This is Derbyshire called the company "one of the most respected companies in the city ... this is a group that has performed successfully both at home and abroad and has won the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival no less than six times. So no-one was surprised that The Gondoliers was a thoroughly enjoyable show, ably marshalled by Andrew Nicklin, who has an enviable reputation for staging quality productions."In 2010, the company made another trans-Atlantic trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg is a borough that is the county seat, part of the Gettysburg Battlefield, and the eponym for the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg. The town hosts visitors to the Gettysburg National Military Park and has 3 institutions of higher learning: Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg College, and...
, to take part in the U.S. leg of the 17th International G&S Festival with its Mikado. It is also performing The Mikado in Buxton. Notable company members include tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Gari Glaysher
Gari Glaysher
Gari Glaysher is a British operatic tenor and classical crossover singer.-Career:Amongst Glaysher's roles in opera and operetta are Cavaradossi in Tosca, Don José in Carmen and Canio in Pagliacci with Opera Nova...
.
External links
- Derby Gilbert & Sullivan Co official website
- DerbyLive